Hours of Operation

Joseph Blumenthal Spiral Type Collection

Joseph Blumenthal, an American printer, printing historian, and type designer, designed Spiral type in 1931 in Germany so that it could be cut there by Louis Hoell and cast by the Bauer Type Foundry in Frankfurt-am-Main. It was recut and cast in 1935 by Monotype Corporation, Ltd., who distributed it under the name Emerson.

The collection consists of material used in the creation of Joseph Blumenthal's Spiral type, with related ephemera. Box 1 holds original ink drawings by Blumenthal of Spiral initials, a group of trial punches and matrices made by the German punchcutter Louis Hoell, smoke proof prints, two photographs of Hoell, and two folders of proofs and trial pages printed by Blumenthal in both the Spiral and Emerson faces. Box 2 holds the final punches and matrices for 14-point Spiral type, one font of 14-point Spiral type, and two alignment and fitting tools for punchcutting.